This invention is in the field of semiconductor integrated circuits. Embodiments of this invention are more specifically directed to capacitor structures that define analog voltages in such integrated circuits.
An important type of semiconductor integrated circuits are those circuits that implement analog circuit functions in which input and output signals and information are communicated and processed as such. Analog circuit functionality is important in such diverse fields as instrumentation and control systems, audio applications, power management of large-scale electronic systems, communications functions, motor control functions (e.g., such as in hard disk drives), and the like. Some integrated circuits, for example interface circuitry such as analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) and digital-to-analog converters (DACs), include both analog and digital functionality.
Typically, analog integrated circuit functions rely on reference levels (voltages and currents) that are established and regulated on-chip. These reference levels are often involved in such functions as signal measurement, signal conditioning, conversion and interface functions (ADCs and DACs), etc. Proper functioning of the analog integrated circuit, and particularly such functioning over variations in power supply voltage, temperature, and other operating conditions, often critically depends on the stability of reference voltages and currents over such variations. In addition, manufacturing variations as reflected in physical parameters of the integrated circuits, can affect the reference levels as generated in these integrated circuits.
Accordingly, many analog integrated circuits include some ability to “trim” or adjust the on-chip precision reference circuits, as well as other circuit functions within those integrated circuits. Trimming is typically performed at manufacture, after electrical measurement or other evaluation of the performance of the raw circuit as manufactured. Various technologies for such trimming and adjustment are known, including laser trimming of resistors, and programming of fuses or antifuses in a digital control word that selectively shunts resistors within a resistor bank. Recently, programmable non-volatile memory elements have been considered for use as trimming elements, for example in replacement of fuses or antifuses. Examples of these non-volatile memory elements include floating-gate metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) transistors, in which the state of the transistor is defined by charge trapped at a floating gate electrode. Programming of the device is accomplished through such mechanisms as Fowler-Nordheim tunneling, and hot carrier injection.
Certain analog applications, such as high-precision ADCs and DACs, require extremely precise and stable reference circuits. Not only must the reference levels have a high initial accuracy (e.g., on the order of 1 mV for a reference voltage on the order of 5 volts), but temperature stability of on the order of 5 ppm/° C. and long-term drift of on the order of 10 ppm/1000 hours are also now commonly required. To achieve such precision, it is useful to more directly trim circuit elements, such as circuit elements at the inputs and in the feedback loops of amplifiers in the reference circuits. In addition, such direct trimming of circuit elements can result in reduced power consumption than resistor-bank type of trimming circuits, which is of course well-suited for modern battery-powered applications.
It is attractive to use floating-gate techniques to trim capacitors directly at the reference circuit amplifier, because of the precision with which charge may be programmed according to modern programming methods, and also because the programming operation can be carried out by purely electrical means. But any trapped charge applied in such trimming must be retained at the floating gate for the life of the device, considering that the trimming may only be performed at the time of manufacture. Conventional capacitor dielectric films in analog integrated circuits have been observed, in connection with this invention, to exhibit some degree of leakage over time. An example of such a conventional capacitor dielectric is silicon nitride deposited by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD). As such, the use of floating-gate capacitor technology in conventional analog circuits would require additional costly processes such as deposition of dielectric films specifically for the programmable capacitors, deposition and patterning of an additional conductor layer, and the like.
Ahuja et al., “A Very High Precision 500-nA CMOS Floating-Gate Analog Voltage Reference”, J. Solid-State Circ., Vol. 40, No. 12 (IEEE, December 2005), pp. 2364-72 describes the use of floating-gate technology in precision analog reference circuits. In this article, the floating-gate device is constructed as a double-level polysilicon device. Tunneling regions between the two polysilicon levels is formed as a 400 Å film of silicon dioxide. It is believed that the manufacturing process implemented into this structure is relatively costly, given the requirement that a separate tunneling oxide film be deposited. In addition, this approach uses a relatively thick tunneling oxide film, which results in a relatively small capacitance per unit area.